Cornerstone Submissions

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WA’s future is in all of our hands

October 31, 2016

“To build a future for WA in these tight economic times, we need to be driving more collaborative and coordinated efforts that provide holistic solutions for families and communities,” said Irina Cattalini, CEO of WACOSS today.

The Council’s 2017-18 WA Pre-Budget Submission, The Future In Our Hands, highlights three themes that are critical to delivering improved outcomes for the most disadvantaged in our community: smarter services, stronger families and resilient communities.

“Our submission comes at a time when there is significant community concern about poverty and inequality in Western Australia, in the lead-up to a state election.

“WA has the highest rate of inequality in the country. Inequality not only harms us economically, it ultimately harms the social wellbeing of our community.”

“Poverty and inequality are not inevitable. They depend on the choices we make, our political will and willingness to work together so that we leave no-one behind,” said Ms Cattalini.

“The set of strategic policy recommendations and budget priorities we have developed through extensive consultation with frontline community services provide a blueprint for targeted investment for the coming year and beyond.”

“Whoever forms government in March next year must make it a priority to reverse this trend through investment in growing diversified employment opportunities, underpinned by well-designed and accessible social services to support those most excluded from our economy and community.”

Data released by ACOSS indicates that there are nearly 3 million Australians in poverty, with 731,000 of them being children. In WA there are 240,000 people living below the poverty line, with a further 150,000 at risk of financial hardship.

“By enabling smarter services, supporting families to become stronger and building more resilient communities, we can create a society in which we all have a share.”